Toura Golf Irons Build Test: 2024 Forum Review

[JRDuck40]

First off, I would like to give a HUGE thank you to Toura Golf and MGS for this opportunity to not only build a set of Toura Irons from scratch, but to also game them! This is legitimately one of the coolest opportunities to test I’ve ever heard of. Let alone being able to participate.

My name is Jim Duckett, 41 and live just outside of Milwaukee, WI with my amazing wife, Diana, two boys Ray & Ben and of course our pup, Ella.

Our boys keep us busy with a ton of activities throughout the year. Summer is filled with chasing them around to multiple camps, practices, events, etc… But if you are going to get golf in, you need to get up early. I’m a dew sweeper for sure with an OK handicap, currently 6.1 and going to enter my 3rd attempt at WI State Amateur qualifying this July.

Outside of golf and family time, I also love to fish / spend time on our boat, take in Brewers baseball games and have a little bourbon collection as well. Up to 50+ bottles. (If you need a bourbon recommendation, feel free to DM me.)

During the ‘non-golf’ season in the frozen north, I stay loose with indoor sim league (shameless plug for www.stixgolfbar.com) and tinker with club building / customizations. Some of my more recent builds were making drivers for my boys. Sourced the heads, adapters / ferrules off of eBay. Shafts purchased from Golf Galaxy with grips pulled from my prior set of irons. Of course, one of them is a lefty…  

A custom pain fill / oil can finish on a set of Callaway X Series wedges. A beat up old Ping Anser that I shined up and did a USA themed pain fill on.

Various hybrids / a new to me Titleist TS2 5 wood that is quickly becoming my favorite club in the bag. And this GEM of a Scotty that I traded one of my old bags for via FB Marketplace. The buyer knew what he had, but didn’t have the time or cash to bring it back to life. Smoke show of a putter. (And no, I did not do the full restoration. Sent it off to bosgolf.com. They do amazing work!)

Before BOS..... 

After... OOOOOO baby! 

But with any build, there can be challenges. For instance, trying to find a good source for adapters online. Thankfully quite a few that I source online are via eBay. The majority  do come in as advertised. But one in every few have been shipped incorrectly. Many of the shops do allow returns and are quick to act. Another FAIL was this old Vokey wedge that I attempted to do another Oil Can finish but neglected to remove the chrome finish first…. Ugh. When it comes to club making, quick is never the way. Take your time and do things right.

For the testing / build from Toura, I picked the Japan Forged CB blanks in chrome finish. I’ll be using True Temper S300 shafts. But from there on out, it is all custom baby! Over the course of the build, I’ll be sure to give shout outs to the companies / retailers that I’m sourcing. I’m a grip snob and as of late, fell in love with the UTx cords from Lamkin. A little sneak peek into the build, these are the grips I purchased from www.grips4less.com.

Best of luck to the other builders for this project.

@azstu324, @david leighton reid, @ctg44

They have all have some great ideas for customization that I am super jacked to see what they are all cooking up. I know @azstu324 has something up his sleeve that is going to turn some heads.

I cannot wait to see what you all come up with!

Thank you again to MGS and Toura for this once in a lifetime opportunity. Cannot wait to get the heads in house and get this build going.

 

 

Edited April 30 by JRDuck40
Removal of 2 extra photos at end of post.

[Rob Person]

11 hours ago, ctg44 said:

Introduction:

Good morning everyone:

 

To say I am excited to be a part of this test build and review process is indeed an understatement.  I am married to a very amazing and patient woman who tolerates me being a golf and hockey nut and still plays on a coed adult rec ice hockey team herself.  We are parents of 2 grown young men:  A 24-year-old who graduated college early and is approaching his 2nd anniversary of working in the cybersecurity field after joining the Army National Guard, and a 19-year-old who is doing what is most easily described as a paid internship / trade school program through USA Hockey to become a professional ice hockey official.  After years mostly concentrating on playing, coaching, and (eventually) officiating ice hockey (crazy how much of it there is here in the Dallas area), I got back into golf hardcore when our younger son joined the junior high team in 7th grade (about 7 years ago now), and have gone from shooting in the 90s back to shooting in the low 80s (and on a few occasions, even in the 70s when I've been playing and practicing often enough).  We belong to the local country club where my son's high school team practiced before he graduated last year.  While he had taken the year off of competitive golf because he was too busy as the captain of his varsity hockey team and working a ton every week as a hockey official, we still tried to get out and play when we could together.  I try to play at least twice a week, once for at least 9 holes on my own after work and once for 18 on the weekend with my wife and, if he's in town, our younger son.  I work in an environment that can go from boring to very stressful in a heartbeat, and all things golf help with relieving that stress, whether it's building out a set of irons, practicing in a simulator because it's rained 4 out of the last 5 days, or actually getting to play on the course.

 

When my kids were growing up, I was known as their teams' "equipment manager" because if something broke or someone needed a skate sharpened or fixed, I was the person to at least ask what needed to be done so their parent (who generally had no idea at all about gear) could properly get it fixed.  I was also the "go-to" for helping my kids' teammates, along with teammates on the adult team my wife and I played on find the right size skates and other gear.  Thus, it's not surprising that when I started playing golf again, tinkering with my gear came naturally.  I started by replacing my own grips a few times, and once that became second nature, I'm not sure I've had a shop change a grip out in 4-5 years.  I graduated into using secondhand marketplaces like eBay, etc., to find good used gear as I had with hockey to be able to fill out our bags for less than going to retail, but sometimes, those clubs would need a reshaft, or a ferrule would have crept up, and I eventually started to experiment with pulling those steel shafts and rebuilding the clubs myself to save money.  I bought a shaft extractor and now have rebuilt several sets of irons for my wife and me. While I know I don't have the same skill sets that some of the other builders in this review group might have, my club builds have been durable and performed well for us over the past couple of years. I hope to show that building your own clubs can be an economical way for golfers to get better gear and very reasonable prices if you are willing to take the time and put in the effort.  

 

I am really looking forward to having the MGS family along for the ride in this build process, and to that end, I'm incorporating everyone into my build process.  Since I can't decide exactly which ferrules I want to use, I'm running a poll to get your feedback on what you think would look the best.  I chose the Toura Golf (Blank) JCB-Cut Japan Forged CB in the pure raw finish because I'm kind of a nut for raw finishes and can't wait to see how these patina over the testing period.  I created a Google Form to collect your votes.  Please share your MGS Forum username in the first answer and if you decide to share a different option, please ensure the link is safe for viewing at work.

https://bit.ly/MGSTCBCTG44FerrulePoll

 

More to come soon!

I put my suggestion in the form, also, have you decided on shafts and grips?

[ctg44]

3 minutes ago, Rob Person said:

I put my suggestion in the form, also, have you decided on shafts and grips?

I am going to use the X100 shafts and the stock grips (supposed to be similar to a Lamkin Crossline) that Toura is supplying for us.  I want to give the Toura kit products as much of a shot at making it into the bag long term as possible, though admittedly, the grips have a long way to go to beat out the current leader in the clubhouse, the Golf Pride ZGRIP Plus2, or my previous groups, the Lamkin ST Hybrids.

Thanks for your input.  I seriously can't wait.  Lunchtime is going to be a busy time for the next couple of days as I try to keep up with everything in my inbox and catch up on messages!

[MuniGolfer]

This is a great group for this!

[Rob Person]

42 minutes ago, JRDuck40 said:

First off, I would like to give a HUGE thank you to Toura Golf and MGS for this opportunity to not only build a set of Toura Irons from scratch, but to also game them! This is legitimately one of the coolest opportunities to test I’ve ever heard of. Let alone being able to participate.

My name is Jim Duckett, 41 and live just outside of Milwaukee, WI with my amazing wife, Diana, two boys Ray & Ben and of course our pup, Ella.

Our boys keep us busy with a ton of activities throughout the year. Summer is filled with chasing them around to multiple camps, practices, events, etc… But if you are going to get golf in, you need to get up early. I’m a dew sweeper for sure with an OK handicap, currently 6.1 and going to enter my 3rd attempt at WI State Amateur qualifying this July.

Outside of golf and family time, I also love to fish / spend time on our boat, take in Brewers baseball games and have a little bourbon collection as well. Up to 50+ bottles. (If you need a bourbon recommendation, feel free to DM me.)

During the ‘non-golf’ season in the frozen north, I stay loose with indoor sim league (shameless plug for www.stixgolfbar.com) and tinker with club building / customizations. Some of my more recent builds were making drivers for my boys. Sourced the heads, adapters / ferrules off of eBay. Shafts purchased from Golf Galaxy with grips pulled from my prior set of irons. Of course, one of them is a lefty…  

A custom pain fill / oil can finish on a set of Callaway X Series wedges. A beat up old Ping Anser that I shined up and did a USA themed pain fill on.

Various hybrids / a new to me Titleist TS2 5 wood that is quickly becoming my favorite club in the bag. And this GEM of a Scotty that I traded one of my old bags for via FB Marketplace. The buyer knew what he had, but didn’t have the time or cash to bring it back to life. Smoke show of a putter. (And no, I did not do the full restoration. Sent it off to bosgolf.com. They do amazing work!)

Before BOS..... 

After... OOOOOO baby! 

But with any build, there can be challenges. For instance, trying to find a good source for adapters online. Thankfully quite a few that I source online are via eBay. The majority  do come in as advertised. But one in every few have been shipped incorrectly. Many of the shops do allow returns and are quick to act. Another FAIL was this old Vokey wedge that I attempted to do another Oil Can finish but neglected to remove the chrome finish first…. Ugh. When it comes to club making, quick is never the way. Take your time and do things right.

For the testing / build from Toura, I picked the Japan Forged CB blanks in chrome finish. I’ll be using True Temper S300 shafts. But from there on out, it is all custom baby! Over the course of the build, I’ll be sure to give shout outs to the companies / retailers that I’m sourcing. I’m a grip snob and as of late, fell in love with the UTx cords from Lamkin. A little sneak peek into the build, these are the grips I purchased from www.grips4less.com.

Best of luck to the other builders for this project.

@azstu324, @david leighton reid, @ctg44

They have all have some great ideas for customization that I am super jacked to see what they are all cooking up. I know @azstu324 has something up his sleeve that is going to turn some heads.

I cannot wait to see what you all come up with!

Thank you again to MGS and Toura for this once in a lifetime opportunity. Cannot wait to get the heads in house and get this build going.

 

 

Those grip will look sharp on them!

[JRDuck40]

2 minutes ago, Rob Person said:

Those grip will look sharp on them!

Wait till you see the ferrules I picked up.

[buckpillar]

Congratulations to the testers, looking forward to how the build turns out then how they play. 

@Josh Parker you can't go wrong with Arnold Palmer pink!

[Josh Parker]

2 minutes ago, buckpillar said:

Congratulations to the testers, looking forward to how the build turns out then how they play. 

@Josh Parker you can't go wrong with Arnold Palmer pink!

I'm full of tattoos, if you think a little color is going to scare me away...  haha 

It makes it a little easier knowing I can hit them well too though. 

[buckpillar]

Does anyone know the hosel size? .370 .355?

[TSauer]

My vote has been cast! @ctg44 I love the idea of getting the community involved, that makes things fun. I had a set saved from BB&FCo that I was going to recommend (just bc they're on my personal wishlist ) but it looks like they're already sold out.

Really looking forward to the process!

[buckpillar]

8 minutes ago, Josh Parker said:

I'm full of tattoos, if you think a little color is going to scare me away...  haha 

It makes it a little easier knowing I can hit them well too though. 

I love the Arnie pink, think we talked about the pink shirts we have a while back, If the clubs play as good as they look, I think the VCT Championship is going to be the final accolade for this set.

You did an awesome job!

[GolfSpy_KFT]

2 hours ago, JRDuck40 said:

First off, I would like to give a HUGE thank you to Toura Golf and MGS for this opportunity to not only build a set of Toura Irons from scratch, but to also game them! This is legitimately one of the coolest opportunities to test I’ve ever heard of. Let alone being able to participate.

My name is Jim Duckett, 41 and live just outside of Milwaukee, WI with my amazing wife, Diana, two boys Ray & Ben and of course our pup, Ella.

Our boys keep us busy with a ton of activities throughout the year. Summer is filled with chasing them around to multiple camps, practices, events, etc… But if you are going to get golf in, you need to get up early. I’m a dew sweeper for sure with an OK handicap, currently 6.1 and going to enter my 3rd attempt at WI State Amateur qualifying this July.

Outside of golf and family time, I also love to fish / spend time on our boat, take in Brewers baseball games and have a little bourbon collection as well. Up to 50+ bottles. (If you need a bourbon recommendation, feel free to DM me.)

During the ‘non-golf’ season in the frozen north, I stay loose with indoor sim league (shameless plug for www.stixgolfbar.com) and tinker with club building / customizations. Some of my more recent builds were making drivers for my boys. Sourced the heads, adapters / ferrules off of eBay. Shafts purchased from Golf Galaxy with grips pulled from my prior set of irons. Of course, one of them is a lefty…  

A custom pain fill / oil can finish on a set of Callaway X Series wedges. A beat up old Ping Anser that I shined up and did a USA themed pain fill on.

Various hybrids / a new to me Titleist TS2 5 wood that is quickly becoming my favorite club in the bag. And this GEM of a Scotty that I traded one of my old bags for via FB Marketplace. The buyer knew what he had, but didn’t have the time or cash to bring it back to life. Smoke show of a putter. (And no, I did not do the full restoration. Sent it off to bosgolf.com. They do amazing work!)

Before BOS..... 

After... OOOOOO baby! 

But with any build, there can be challenges. For instance, trying to find a good source for adapters online. Thankfully quite a few that I source online are via eBay. The majority  do come in as advertised. But one in every few have been shipped incorrectly. Many of the shops do allow returns and are quick to act. Another FAIL was this old Vokey wedge that I attempted to do another Oil Can finish but neglected to remove the chrome finish first…. Ugh. When it comes to club making, quick is never the way. Take your time and do things right.

For the testing / build from Toura, I picked the Japan Forged CB blanks in chrome finish. I’ll be using True Temper S300 shafts. But from there on out, it is all custom baby! Over the course of the build, I’ll be sure to give shout outs to the companies / retailers that I’m sourcing. I’m a grip snob and as of late, fell in love with the UTx cords from Lamkin. A little sneak peek into the build, these are the grips I purchased from www.grips4less.com.

Best of luck to the other builders for this project.

@azstu324, @david leighton reid, @ctg44

They have all have some great ideas for customization that I am super jacked to see what they are all cooking up. I know @azstu324 has something up his sleeve that is going to turn some heads.

I cannot wait to see what you all come up with!

Thank you again to MGS and Toura for this once in a lifetime opportunity. Cannot wait to get the heads in house and get this build going.

 

 

From your Wisconsinite neighbor to the Northwest (Reedsburg, WI) can't wait to see how the build turns out for you!

[azstu324]

1 hour ago, buckpillar said:

Does anyone know the hosel size? .370 .355?

For this specific line it's .355

[tdroma98]

14 hours ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

Please welcome and congratulate our testers/builders!

@azstu324 

@David Leighton Reid 

@ctg44 

@JRDuck40

Congratulations Testers/Builders! 
This will be very interesting to follow and get the inside skinny of club building! Enjoy!! 

[KC Golf]

Can’t wait to see these Toura irons in detailed pics with this team of Forum club builders!  The custom work you guys will do on these irons will be epic!

[Josh Parker]

2 hours ago, buckpillar said:

I love the Arnie pink, think we talked about the pink shirts we have a while back, If the clubs play as good as they look, I think the VCT Championship is going to be the final accolade for this set.

You did an awesome job!

Yes we did!  

And I like where your head is at for the VCT!  

Thanks!

[ctg44]

Well, as if my ADD wasn't already going into overdrive thinking about this project, I got an email from Toura just now with this excerpt in it... 

 

"On this note, your order has already shipped and should likely be there over the next 3-4 business days."     

 

Well there goes any chance I was going to be productive the rest of the day! Good thing it's almost time to head home here! 

[JRDuck40]

1 hour ago, GolfSpy_KFT said:

From your Wisconsinite neighbor to the Northwest (Reedsburg, WI) can't wait to see how the build turns out for you!

I think YOU epically will enjoy what I have in store. Very excited to get started

[JRDuck40]

35 minutes ago, ctg44 said:

Well, as if my ADD wasn't already going into overdrive thinking about this project, I got an email from Toura just now with this excerpt in it... 

 

"On this note, your order has already shipped and should likely be there over the next 3-4 business days."     

 

Well there goes any chance I was going to be productive the rest of the day! Good thing it's almost time to head home here! 

Right! Just got the same notification. Now all I can think about is getting this build going. 

[TJ Hall]

Seems like these are getting out quickly…can’t wait to see the final builds!

[rkj427]

Congratulations to this great group.

Really looking forward to the individual and unique builds, and then the testing by them.

[ctg44]

1 hour ago, JRDuck40 said:

Right! Just got the same notification. Now all I can think about is getting this build going. 

Looking like these are the clubhouse leaders for ferrules. My Captain America loving wife approved too, so I went ahead and ordered these so I can get them around the same time as the parts arrive. 

 

https://bbandfco.com/collections/shorties-1/products/albatross-1

 

Thanks to those who voted and I'll leave the poll open for anyone else to throw their votes in to influence future build options. 

Edited April 30 by ctg44

[BreakfastBall15]

Congrats testers! Looking forward to how your builds go and how these clubs perform for you

[azstu324]

19 hours ago, ctg44 said:

Looking like these are the clubhouse leaders for ferrules. My Captain America loving wife approved too, so I went ahead and ordered these so I can get them around the same time as the parts arrive. 

 

https://bbandfco.com/collections/shorties-1/products/albatross-1

 

Thanks to those who voted and I'll leave the poll open for anyone else to throw their votes in to influence future build options. 

I was eyeballing those same ferrules but backed off for something else. I'm still completely unsure which ferrules I want though. 

BB&F had a perfect colorway that matched the ideas that I'm thinking about but ended up pulling it from the catalog. 

Being a total freak for all things Pulp Fiction, I'm really thinking these will do the job quite nicely.. we shall see. 

The colors that I'll be incorporating in my club build are the following:

Silver, black, copper, white..

[ctg44]

Love that color scheme @azstu324.  Those are very similar to the White Lightning ones I had in my poll as an option for my build.  

[Shrek74]

10 minutes ago, azstu324 said:

I was eyeballing those same ferrules but backed off for something else. I'm still completely unsure which ferrules I want though. 

BB&F had a perfect colorway that matched the ideas that I'm thinking about but ended up pulling it from the catalog. 

Being a total freak for all things Pulp Fiction, I'm really thinking these will do the job quite nicely.. we shall see. 

The colors that I'll be incorporating in my club build are the following:

Silver, black, copper, white..

https://bbandfco.com/collections/colored-body/products/scarface-silver

This one isn't bad and has those colors in them. Well, the copper is kinda copper.

The 88 MPH or Blue Flame may make it into another project for me.

They used to have several really sweet designs with copper in them, similar to the Winston. But they all seem to be gone now.

[Shrek74]

19 minutes ago, azstu324 said:

Being a total freak for all things Pulp Fiction, I'm really thinking these will do the job quite nicely.. we shall see. 

The colors that I'll be incorporating in my club build are the following:

Silver, black, copper, white..

So are you going to add some red paint splatter?

[azstu324]

20 minutes ago, Shrek74 said:

The 88 MPH or Blue Flame may make it into another project for me

I saw those too. I'd buy them for the theme alone

"Where we're going, we don't need roads!"

Edited May 1 by azstu324

[azstu324]

12 minutes ago, Shrek74 said:

So are you going to add some red paint splatter?

Probably not for this project.. but LOVE the suggestion! 

[Shrek74]

3 minutes ago, azstu324 said:

Probably not for this project.. but LOVE the suggestion! 

I was really surprised at the lack of copper options with BB&F. They used to have several that were  but they're all gone.